Many are heading to the beach to escape the hot temperatures this summer, only to find the water is closed. Now, a group of researchers is trying out a new method that could deliver water testing results faster.

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Angelica A. Morrison reports.

Camp counselor Matt Bartosz has been working with kids at Woodlawn Beach for most of the summer and, he says, the water is rarely open for swimming.

“We only went in the water once, because it’s always closed,” he said.

The water is sometimes closed for swimming, because of elevated bacteria levels.

At Woodlawn, a method is used where results are provided daily.

“At this beach, and a few other beaches, they use another modeling tool, because there was a lot of rain last night, they also put in wind direction and things like that,” said Cornell's Ruth Richardson. “Most beaches around the country don’t have such a model.”

For many beaches around the Great Lakes region, there’s a 24-hour turnaround period for water testing.

Richardson’s group is working to improve that. They were at Woodlawn taking water samples and trying out a new process for water testing.

The group is traveling around the state testing water. They'll be compiling their results and if everything looks promising, then they'll start the process of getting approval to use this approach.

Toxin concentrations were high only one day last week. On Friday, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District detected a concentration of 10 parts per billion at Edgewater Beach. Ohio’s recreational threshold is 6 parts per billion.

Scientists predict a significant harmful algae bloom for western Lake Erie this year.

The forecast, a joint effort between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Heidelberg University and other partners, predicts a bloom severity of six on a 10-point scale. That would be better than last year, but worse than 2016.

The Great Lakes/St. Lawrence River make up the world's biggest freshwater system -- and an enormously valuable resource. It supplies drinking water for millions of residents and powers the region's economy.